Mauro Rosales’ fate has been decided. The former Seattle Sounders Designated Player has been traded to Chivas USA in exchange for Tristan Bowen’s rights and, perhaps more importantly, the No. 2 spot in the Allocation Ranking. As part of the trade, Chivas USA will take the Sounders’ No. 13 spot in the Allocation Ranking.

Mauro has been an important part of our organization, both on and off the field, for the past three years, Sounders General Manager Adrian Hanauer said in a team release. It will be difficult to see him leave, but our salary cap situation made this decision necessary. We wish Mauro the very best at Chivas.

Earlier in the day, Rosales had tweeted out that he was leaving the Sounders. Until now, it was unclear what, exactly that meant. It turns out, the Sounders were able to swing a trade for the midfielder just ahead of the MLS Re-Entry Draft, which will be conducted on Thursday.

Rather than losing Rosales for nothing — which is what the Sounders would have received if he had been picked in either stage of the Re-Entry Draft — the Sounders will get a couple of intriguing pieces.

Bowen, who will turn 23 next month, was once a highly prized prospect. The LA Galaxy made him the league’s first official Homegrown Player in 2008, signing him as a 17-year-old. In 2010, he worked himself into the regular rotation, making 17 appearances and 10 starts. He also scored two goals and had two assists in 878 minutes.

In what was seen as a bit of a surprising move, he was traded across town to Chivas USA. He ultimately found himself at the end of the bench of a pretty bad team, playing just 60 minutes and was ultimately loaned out to a second-division Belgian team where he failed to really make a mark.

When you own a small retail store, you suffer from the tough economy more than your larger competitors. It’s a tough reality, and you have no choice but to understand how to over come the dry times. There are lots of things you can do to drum up business at your store, so take a few momemts or hours and take into consideration which ones is going to be most affective for your particular store. It’s important to consider your customer, what they want, and what will make them not only want to come in, but feel the need ahead in. How will they be at home and feel compelled on this, a precious day they’ve been place on Earth, to depart their home and are available to your store instead of your competitor’s. Below are a few ideas.

1. Daily Prizes

If on a daily basis they’re some sort of special incentive to come in, something that can certainly make customers excited to come in is. Some taco places for example of $1 taco Tuesdays. You better believe that place is packed on a Tuesday, which is typically a slower day. You can have prize wheels that have another set of rewards each day of every week. For example that can be done Free Sample Mondays, and anyone who comes in, whether or not they purchase something, can spin the wheel and get a free sample of something you sell. It’s a wonderful way to drum up interest and return customers. You’d be surprised how the little simple thing like that can actually sway someone to choose your place over someone else’s. You can get a prize wheel easily at thedisplayoutlet.com.

2. Join Forces

See the best way to cross promote with another business if you believe your business is struggling. For example, say you sell second hand clothing and you want more customers – maybe pair with the nearby bakery and make up a combo deal, buy $10 or even more at your store, get such n this sort of amount off at the bakery, and the other way around. You can keep an eye on it easily with your new friend, to see your businesses boom when people who come to your place now regularly visit the bakery, and vice versa. These types of ways of thinking outside the box can really help, specifically in this day and age where people are into routines and bragging about great deals on Facebook.

3. Free Wifi

Everyone likes being connected to the internet at all times. There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to check out something quick, like the information on the party you want to go to later, or what time your friend’s band starts, and then the inability to connect to the web and feeling totally detached. Don’t allow that to awful feeling happen on your store, because that person will no doubt hit the streets (i.e. leave your store! ) to get back to their 4G network. Also, if you have a restaurant or book store or coffee shop, free wifi is utterly essential. And don’t do just about anything like possess a time limit. If they to, the customer is definitely right, so let those folks just camp out. Should you do, They’ll make your place their most favorite place to camp.

A client of mine recently finished her second trade event. It’s such a huge journey of planning, preparing, presenting, pitching and patiently following up. Though the rewards could be great.

Trade exhibitions are an important part of marketing and committing to your business, expanding and taking it to another level. Not sure if you’re ready?

Here’s 8 Questions to help you decide if you’re ready to exhibit with a Trade Show:

1. Are you ready to wholesale?

Wholesaling are a wide step so you need to be retail ready before you consider it. I talk much more about that here. If you answer yes to the question and you’re comfortable dealing with buyers and retailers then you’re willing to move on to the subsequent questions.

2. Are you able to produce bulk of your product in a specific time frame?

This is about production timelines and deadlines. Orders might be a lot larger than one off customer purchases. Managing your inventory and getting delivery close to the first order is key.

3. Does your pricing fit for wholesale and allow you to generate income?

Wholesale is about scaling your company, so think higher number of product minimizing pricing. A difficult guide to your wholesale costs are half of the shop price you charge customers in your website or on etsy. Getting the pricing starting from the beginning is vital to allow your company expand into wholesale afterwards if you wish to.

4. Excuses have you employed your research?

It’s important the teach you exhibit at reflects your brand and is the right fit to your customer. Could be the show attracting unique top end finds or cheap and cheerful offering unbeatable value? Also consider your allowance, the size and scale of the event as well as your available resources for manning the stand. You can go to events you’re considering as a potential exhibitor first and often organisers are happy to give an excursion free of charge.

5. What’s your goals for exhibiting with the tradeshow?

Although there are numerous benefits to exhibiting at a show it’s necessary to identify your main aim. Planning for the show then becomes less difficult and also your post show evaluation is measured against some specifics. Do you want to get a minimum of 10 orders, network and meet retail leaders, get comments from customers or produce a certain amount of prospects?

6. Perhaps you have worked out your allowance?

Exhibiting at the show isn’t cheap, and apart from the actual stand hire you have to include other extras. Be sure you plan in advance your costs and will include travel, product samples, printing -brochures, business cards, display material etc .

7. Where does your product fit in the buying cycle?

Most industry events open for registration at least 6 months prior to launch date so be mindful of the date with the show and exactly how far out ahead of time you’ll be working. As an example the In Style exhibitors display their Christmas stock in August.

8. Maybe you have a platform offered to promote your show participation?

Even though event hosts can have their own marketing campaign it’s important it is possible to promote and attract focus on your presence too. This may include mentions inside your newsletter, blog posts, facebook mentions, your stand location, personal invites to existing customers/retailers.

So these are generally some things to take into account before checking out exhibiting at a show. Next on this Trade Show series we’ll glance at the during and after show guidelines.

A lot more than any other element you prepare to attend a trade show, the display can make or break you. Attendees will decide using a quick look into your trade show display whether they want to visit your booth or otherwise not. So, the style and wording the board displays directly affects whether anyone will hear your message.

Create an interesting Trade Show Display: Reel Them In

1. Show and Say to them Who You Are in one Glance

Displays can answer a question or pose one, however in order to attract attention you should give them some idea of what they stand to gain from visiting your booth.

Create a clear, concise theme and allow this message to dictate the rest of the design.

2. Keep it uncomplicated

It’s tempting to want to give everyone your complete message for the display. But people milling with regards to a crowded room with lots to view and do won’t take long to read.

Instead, let them have one or two outline that quickly and easily introduces your product, service, etc.

3. Boil Down Your Message to a Single Catch Phrase

Most new products and services can be complex. It’s challenging to easily define problematic concept, mobile app, product or application in a single sentence. Instead, build a message that offers the viewer one justification to give you one minute of their time.

Help it become catchy. You desire your phrase to be something simple to recognize or recall later when they’re prepared to make a purchase.

4. Don’t Get Too Technical

Even when you’re attending a tech trade show, never assume the people attending have an interest or knowledgeable about highly technical things. Many organisations send a manager or non-tech representative to attend these shows.

Craft your message so a layperson can understand and don’t create a display that intimidates non-techies.

5. Use Color and Images Wisely

You would like color and pictures to attract, not to distract. Use only two or three contrasting colors to create an eye-catching scheme that isn’t too busy or dizzying. Any images you utilize must be clear and vivid.

It can be profitable to have displays professionally printed, as you don’t want to look homemade in the midst of your savvy competitors.

6. Use Quality Materials and Construction

The scariest thing that could happen on your trade show is made for your well-designed trade exhibition display to topple or crumple. Don’t use cheap materials to build the display. Select top quality, durable materials and ensure the display is assembled properly at the beginning of the show. Look into the integrity in the display regularly.

The proper trade show display means you’re catching attention from across the room. A presentation that colorfully highlights the real key of your message lets attendees know it’s worth their time to mosey over – meaning you receive what you covered to attend the show.

Hello All! As some of you may know, we right here at Bomb HQ show the majority of our beautiful wares to lovely retailers worldwide, at about 14 trade shows a year. Unfortunately, these 14 trade events all land within the same couple of weeks, so we are in the NEC Birmingham, in addition to Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris, Leipzig, Hamburg and Munich from the space of about three weeks. Phew! I’m off tomorrow to aid dismantle the large display at Maison et Objet show in Paris, whilst my colleague Richard ‘return in the mac’ McAvoy and Miguel vamoos to Madrid, whilst our Bomb elves process and pack orders from Leipzig. Here is a little pic of the NEC to give you a perception of what we build and merchandise in about a day!

Almost all of our shows are relating to this size now, therefore we have walls to construct, stands to gather, graphics to put up, product to merchandise, oh their email list is endless. However, it’s absolutely wonderful to fulfill our stockists in person, and see their reply to our new developments. That alone is worth all of the effort!

If any one you have pics of our shows anywhere in the world, please send them to us via sales@bombcosmetics.co.uk or go ahead and let me know for those who have seen us anywhere in your travels.

Lots of the products on the shows are brand new, and should be creating any store or key retailer close to you soon!

Failing that, we’re showing at the Clothes Show in the NEC later around, so come along to meet us, and perhaps pick up some of our handmade, natural products. Help you there!

Exhibiting with trade show exhibits is stressful, whether you’re completely new to these events or you’re an advertising veteran. Prior to deciding to attend any event, just be sure you understand probably the most common dos and don’ts regarding exhibiting, including learning to make sure that everyone who visits your exhibit gets greeted, why it’s imperative that you follow the rules with the trade show event, and how to make it easy for website visitors to find you after the event is finished.

Do: Make certain that Staff Members Greet Everyone Who Visits Your Display Exhibits

This might seem like a no-brainer, specifically staff members who have ever worked in retail, but it’s worth repeating: your staff should make an effort to greet each and every person who visits your trade show booth. If you’re short-staffed for any reason or you have some members who’re at lunch, this could seem like an arduous task, but it doesn’t have to be. Instead, be sure that everyone understands that they may acknowledge a beginner with a wave, a nod or simply a smile if they’re occupied with another visitor. Many attendees will know that they need to wait if you’re busy with another visitor. Take some time with each visitor, however, and attempt not to rush a present conversation. This could make current visitors feel less essential that others. It’s simple to wrap up a conversation with a visitor who just would like to make small talk inside a tactful way and this skill can often be quite valuable at marketing events.

Don’t: Ignore The Importance Of Ads

If you’re having ads or promotional giveaways created (and you ought to!), it’s important that you consider how your visitors will receive these items. Instead of giving away a pen with simply your logo, make sure that includes your contact number or website address. The same is true for any printed materials like brochures. Make sure that your contact details is on each and every item that you simply give away. This error is easy to produce, but it’s also easy to avoid if you take a critical review your giveaways.

Do: Understand And Stick to the Event’s Rules!

Virtually any trade show is full of rules and regulations that must be followed. Exhibitors who don’t follow these rules can face hefty fines, if they broke a regulation intentionally or otherwise not. When you first subscribed to the event, it’s likely that you received a sizable document full of the show’s foibles. While it might be tempting to just have one person read the document (all things considered, it’s unlikely that anyone desires to read the entire thing!), you should have everybody attending make out the print. This can help ensure that there’s someone who understands all the rules, including things like who is authorized to plug in your electrical components, who is able to install and dismantle your display, as well as where the shipping boxes containing your trade show exhibits need to go. Having more than one person on staff that understands the principles can also come in handy in case someone is suddenly not able to attend as a result of last minute emergency.

These dos as well as the don’t aren’t difficult to follow, but they’re only one things companies should think about before you take their trade show exhibits to a event. Before you attend, take the time to work with your staff members to determine if there are every other trade show dos and don’ts that you can think of.

Another Seattle Hempfest is now a fond (and perhaps, for some, hazy) memory. Twenty-two of the annual “protestivals” are now in the record books, however one was different. In 2010 was the first post- “legalization” Hempfest, the first since Washington state voters thought we would approve I-502, the ballot initiative which legalizes having up to an ounce of pot by adults 21 and older, as well as institutes strict DUI limits on THC blood levels.

seattle-hempfest-logo-hemp-beach-tv-hbtvSome mainstream media reports would have us think that Hempfest is now more a conference than a protest; if you are easily pleased with surface appearances, that will well be the case. But for those who have been watching and paying attention, Hempfest has been a celebration all along – a meeting of cannabis culture as well as the freedom we deserve.

In addition to being for “celebrations,” while one could get the idea from many of the shallower thinkers some of those speaking at Hempfest how the battle is won, most of those competent at deeper mentation raised the point that the approval of I-502 was simply the first step down a lengthy road. We won’t achieve the end with this road until marijuana is really legal, before you can fill it up at home – until it’s roughly the same level of regulation as tomatoes or cabbage.

(A certain amount of rich irony about I-502 before we get on with it: On Sunday, I used to be at Seeley Stage, where, for a long time, joints happen to be traditionally dumped at 4:20. As 4:20 approached on Sunday, the emcee announced that no joints may be distributed through the stage, due to the passage of 502. Ah, the fun of “legalization”!)

The present severe over-regulation of cannabis is where the “protestival” a part of Hempfest comes in: this festival has always defined itself as a free-speech event, a place where injustices may be decried, where the government and corporations can be held into a higher standard.

That is the soul of Hempfest: to supply a venue where cannabis truths might be told, an amount playing field where we could meet together and plan our path forward.

Last week we were at the must-attend Vegas industry events, where new shows, brands and product made the summer season even more inspirational than normal. The shows had a much stronger menswear focus, largely due to the addition of Liberty, the modern trade show on the market from Project founder, Sam Ben-Avraham.

Many men’s purist denim brands moved over from Project to Liberty, making for a more denim-heavy demographic. And with Capsule in the same position, all like-minded shows were in convenient proximity. This didn’t mean that Project was lacking in inspiration though. The show has teamed with ENK for the last two seasons and the women’s and Junior’s market remained a very strong focus. We’ll launched our denim trended report on friday on the site but listed below are three in our favorite trends from your show.”

It’s time of year for your trade shows – which suggests a magnificent mountain of wow-worthy finds will soon be heading to J’Adorn. Were just back from two Toronto shows and also the NY NOW show in New york – high are still more to look. Stop in towards the store for great deals once we try to make room to the new stuff. We’re delighted to tell you just how we’ve found some wonderful treasures, check back often. We are going to post what is the news here as things arrive.

The Mode Show in Toronto had a lot of terrific accessories to adorn you beautifully. Stay in and try a new scarf, hat or hair clip.

The Canadian Gift & Tableware Association, of course, had lots of beautiful finds you will love. We can’t wait to demonstrate them to everyone!”

About a month before New York Fashion Week comes Trade exhibition week, where brands have the opportunity to show off their latest collection to some host of buyers and press for that upcoming seasonal cycle.

Two largest from the menswear shows are Capsule Man and Liberty Fairs, each of which had their showings for Spring/Summer 2014 in Nyc at the end of July. We had arrived able to scope the latest denim offerings from everyone from Baldwin to Big John and possess analysis and photos below.

General trends from S/S ’14 denim, however, include more workwear inspired details – specifically from the late 1950s and early 1960s, more heavily tapered fits, as well as a resurgence of washed and distressed denim.

Despite our cries to the contrary, washed jeans are coming back. Nearly every denim brand in attendance had one or more faded model readily available. But these pre-made fades aren’t your run-of-the-mill mall brand stonewash, the common practice is to take a set of two raw jeans that were beaten to hell to the wash house and ask them to recreate that wear on the fresh product. Less “dad jeans” as it is wearing someone else’s fades.

If you’ll pardon that aside, here’s that which you took away from the New York Trade exhibitions.”